SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED STATIC IP CONFIGURATION

1 . A method, performed by at least one processor, for assigning static IP addresses to one or more pods to instantiate a Network Function (NF), the method comprising:

requesting a plurality of static IP addresses;

storing the plurality of static IP addresses in a central inventory; and

assigning the plurality of static IP addresses to a payload, wherein the payload can be used to instantiate the NF upon deployment.

2 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the requesting the plurality of static IP addresses comprises:

receiving, from a manifest file, a first multinode value indicating the requested number of static IP addresses to be assigned to the payload; and

requesting, from an IP address management (IPAM), the plurality of static IP addresses based on the first multinode value.

3 . The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the assigning the plurality of static IP addresses to a payload comprises:

receiving, from a manifest file, a second multinode value indicating the requested number of static IP addresses that are to be initially used upon instantiation of the NF; and

assigning, to the payload, static IP addresses from the plurality of static IP addresses as static IP addresses that are to be initially used upon instantiation of the NF based on the second multinode value.

4 . The method as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the assigning the plurality of static IP addresses to the payload further comprises:

assigning, to the payload, the remainder of the static IP addresses from the plurality of static IP addresses as static IP addresses which may be used after instantiation of the NF.

5 . The method as claimed in claim 4 , further comprising:

deploying the payload to instantiate the NF; and

based on deploying the payload, allocating to the one or more pods in the NF the static IP addresses which were assigned for use upon instantiation of the NF based on the second multinode value.

6 . The method as claimed in claim 5 , further comprising:

receiving an instruction to scale up the NF;

based on receiving the instruction to scale up the NF, allocating to the one or more pods in the NF the static IP addresses which were assigned for use after instantiation of the NF.

7 . The method as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the instruction to scale up the NF may indicate the additional number of static IP addresses to be utilized.

8 . An apparatus for assigning static IP addresses to one or more pods to instantiate a Network Function (NF), the apparatus comprising at least one processor configured to execute computer-executable instructions to:

request a plurality of static IP addresses;

store the plurality of static IP addresses in a central inventory; and

assign the plurality of static IP addresses to a payload, wherein the payload can be used to instantiate the NF upon deployment.

9 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to request the plurality of static IP addresses by:

receiving, from a manifest file, a first multinode value indicating the requested number of static IP addresses to be assigned to the payload; and

requesting, from an IP address management (IPAM), the plurality of static IP addresses based on the first multinode value.

10 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to assign the plurality of static IP addresses to a payload by:

receiving, from a manifest file, a second multinode value indicating the requested number of static IP addresses that are to be initially used upon instantiation of the NF; and

assigning, to the payload, static IP addresses from the plurality of static IP addresses as static IP addresses that are to be initially used upon instantiation of the NF based on the second multinode value.

11 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to assign the plurality of static IP addresses to a payload by:

assigning, to the payload, the remainder of the static IP addresses from the plurality of static IP addresses as static IP addresses which may be used after instantiation of the NF.

12 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:

deploy the payload to instantiate the NF; and

based on deploying the payload, allocate to the one or more pods in the NF the static IP addresses which were assigned for use upon instantiation of the NF based on the second multinode value.

13 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:

receive an instruction to scale up the NF;

based on receiving the instruction to scale up the NF, allocate to the one or more pods in the NF the static IP addresses which were assigned for use after instantiation of the NF.

14 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the instruction to scale up the NF may indicate the additional number of static IP addresses to be utilized.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon instructions executable by at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to perform a method comprising:

requesting a plurality of static IP addresses;

storing the plurality of static IP addresses in a central inventory; and

assigning the plurality of static IP addresses to a payload, wherein the payload can be used to instantiate the NF upon deployment.

16 . The non-transitory computer readable recording medium as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the requesting the plurality of static IP addresses comprises:

receiving, from a manifest file, a first multinode value indicating the requested number of static IP addresses to be assigned to the payload; and

requesting, from an IP address management (IPAM), the plurality of static IP addresses based on the first multinode value.

17 . The non-transitory computer readable recording medium as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the assigning the plurality of static IP addresses to a payload comprises:

receiving, from a manifest file, a second multinode value indicating the requested number of static IP addresses that are to be initially used upon instantiation of the NF; and

assigning, to the payload, static IP addresses from the plurality of static IP addresses as static IP addresses that are to be initially used upon instantiation of the NF based on the second multinode value.

18 . The non-transitory computer readable recording medium as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the assigning the plurality of static IP addresses to the payload further comprises:

assigning, to the payload, the remainder of the static IP addresses from the plurality of static IP addresses as static IP addresses which may be used after instantiation of the NF.

19 . The non-transitory computer readable recording medium as claimed in claim 18 , wherein the method further comprises:

deploying the payload to instantiate the NF; and

based on deploying the payload, allocating to the one or more pods in the NF the static IP addresses which were assigned for use upon instantiation of the NF based on the second multinode value.

20 . The non-transitory computer readable recording medium as claimed in claim 19 , wherein the method further comprises:

receiving an instruction to scale up the NF;

based on receiving the instruction to scale up the NF, allocating to the one or more pods in the NF the static IP addresses which were assigned for use after instantiation of the NF.